Selling A Practice

How can I find a buyer for my practice?

There are three main ways to sell. First, approach a family member or someone you know. Second, place an advertisement in the optical press. Third, instruct Myers La Roche.

  1. The Direct Approach

    If you know who you would like to take over your practice, the direct approach is often the easiest way of disposal. The cost of selling can be low and the transaction can be quick.

    However, there are drawbacks. You may never achieve a clean break and the purchaser might want you to take a continuing interest in the business. They may even blame you for events that take place in the future. Because you approach the buyer, without testing the market, you are likely to sell for considerably less than the market price. So the prima facie saving of perhaps £5,000 in selling fees may in fact mean that you lose £30,000, £40,000 or more on the completion price.

    The other downside of promoting your own practice is that word often gets out in the local market. If the sale does not go through, the practice becomes tarnished. ‘They’ve been trying to sell for ages….” Staff can become jittery and may leave you.

  2. Advertising

    An advertisement in the trade press can produce a dozen or more respondents who have an interest in your practice for an outlay of a few hundred pounds. Some will be genuine; others will want to see your accounts to give them a commercial edge or perhaps because they are inquisitive. As with the direct approach, if the sale fails to progress quickly, your practice can acquire an undeserved negative image.

  3. Instruct Myers La Roche

    Our fee for selling a practice is 6% of the price that we achieve on completion of the sale. AOP & AOI members receive a discount. In addition, there is a refundable deposit of £200 (€300) which is used to offset the costs of disbursements, if any. This means that on a practice that we sell for €100,000, our fee will be €6,000. If we negotiate a price of €110,000 for the same practice, our fee increases to €6,600. If we don’t sell your practice then there is no charge.

However, selling a practice is a time consuming, difficult job. We are involved with selling practices all day, every day. Experience allows us to avoid most of the pitfalls that we have already discussed. In the long run, we will save you time, money and hassle.

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